Private George Bruce, 1st Battalion, Scots Guards. He was killed by shellfire near the Rue du Bois in France on 9th April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres, aged 27. He had been born in Lauder, was a Regular Soldier and the son of Richard and Janet Bruce of” Leadervale” , Lauder and is buried in Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, France. His brother Thomas also of the 1st Battalion had died from wounds in December 1914. Private Bruce joined up in 1908 after being employed as a baker. His conduct sheet showed that once he had been found on parade with beer in his water bottle. When he died he had just finished 42 days Field Punishment for breaking out of billets. On his arm he had a tattoo of clasped hands, ivy leaves and ” Auld Lang Syne ” (This information was taken from Randall Nichol’s marvellous book ” Till The Trumpets Sound Again ” Volume 1.) which is a history of the Scots Guards in the Great War. The artist’s illustrations depict scenes from the Battle.
